DOCUMENT RESUME ED 409 693 EC 305 742 TITLE Gifted Education Press Quarterly. Volume 10, 1996. PUB DATE 96 NOTE 50p. AVAILABLE FROM Maurice Fisher, Gifted Education Press, 10201 Yuma Court, P.O. Box 1589, Manassas, VA 22110 ($12 per year). PUB TYPE Collected Works Serials (022) Reports Research (143) JOURNAL CIT Gifted Education Press Quarterly; v10 n1-4 1996 EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Academic Achievement; Career Choice; Counseling Services; *Cultural Differences; Curriculum Design; Design; Disadvantaged Youth; *Educational Strategies; Elementary Secondary Education; Emotional Development; *Gifted; *Home Schooling; Homogeneous Grouping; Learning Disabilities; Mentors; Minority Group Children; Moral Values; Newspapers; *Peer Relationship; Rural Schools; Social Development; Social Studies; Student Attitudes; *Talent Identification; Teacher Student Relationship IDENTIFIERS Forster (E M); Swift (Jonathan) ABSTRACT This set of four newsletters discusses current issues in gifted education. The first issue includes: "The Underserved Young Gifted Child: Status of Programs and Research" (Joan Smutny); "The Home Education Model: An Alternative Program for the Gifted" (Karen Kendig) and "Jonathan Swift (1667-1745): A Need for Gifted Readers" (Michael E. Walters). The second issue includes: "Anti-Intellectualism in Secondary Schools: The Problem Continues" (Stephen Schroeder-Davis); "Social and Emotional Needs of Gifted Children: The SENG Program Offers Many Opportunities for Gifted Children" (James T. Webb and Jim Delisle); "Two Gifts and Three Responsibilities" (Diane D. Grybek); and "E. M. Forster (1879-1970) and the Study of Values" (Michael E. Walters); "Making a Difference One-to-One: UCONN Mentor Connection" (Jeanne H. Purcell and Joseph S. Renzulli); "NAGC Position Paper: Affective Needs of Gifted Children"; "An Educator's Creed" (Ross Butchart); "Ability Grouping: Aid or Discrimination" (Karen Cogan); and "Richard Rodriguez: The Struggles of a Gifted Minority Student" (Michael E. Walters). The last issue of the series includes the following articles: "Design Education Activity: A Curriculum Model for Gifted and Talented" (Pauline Bottrill); "Using Newspapers as Textbooks of Life and Culture" (Ross Butchart); and "Appreciation for a Gifted American Writer: Ellen Glasgow (1874-1945)" (Michael E. Walters). (Some articles contain references.) (CR) ******************************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * ******************************************************************************** Gifted Education Press Quarterly. Volume 10, 1996. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCEAND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY M. Tska.1 TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)j U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research andImprovement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproducedas received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality. o Pointe of view or opinions stated in this docu- ment do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. BEST COPY AVM IfLE 2 GIFTED EDUCATION PRESS QUARTERLY 10201 YUMA COURT P.O. BOX 1586 MANASSAS, VA 22110 703-369-5017 WINTER 1996 VOLUME TEN, NUMBER ONE SUBSCRIPTION: $12.00 Recently I attended the annual conference of the Ohio future of our nation?Would a new organization of Association for Gifted Children (OAGC) in Worthington, educators of the gifted be better able to stem the tide of anti- Ohio. This impressive meeting included approximately 450 giftedness that currently exists nationwide? teachers, program coordinators and parents. A variety of interesting sessions and speeches/presentations were offer- One of my authors, Stephen Schroeder-Davis , presented ed by such individuals as Jim Curry, Jim De lisle and Carol sessions at OAGC concerned with his analysis of anti- Tomlinson. The synergy and dynamism produced by these intellectualism in American schools and society. These speakers and OAGC members was both inspirational and sessions were very well attended by teachers concerned noteworthy for stressing the importance of gifted education with the pressures exerted against gifted children by their in Ohio. The organizers of this meeting, Sharon Bu77.ard non-gifted peers and regular education teachers. It is clear and Maria Pappas, produced a thoroughly enjoyable and that anti-intellectualism is strong in the public schools and productive conference. has detrimental effects on the social and intellectual development of gifted children. Teachers can help them to My confidence in the gifted field was strengthened by the deal with this problem by using such instructional guides panel discussion I moderated. (The participants were Jim as Coercive Egalitarianism: A Study of Discrimination Curry, Jim De lisle, Bruce Kline, Jerry Landman, Stephen Against Gifted Students (Gifted Education Press, 1993) by Schroeder-Davis and Carol Tomlinson.) The topics StephenSchroeder-Davis.Furthermore,theanti- addressed ranged from the need for educators of the gifted intellectualism that exists in public education needs to be to work more closely with regular dassroom teachers to the honestly addressed by school boards, superintendents, importance of motivating parents (both gifted and non- teachers and parents. gifted) to support differential education programs. The panelists' viewpoints on these and other issues covered a The authors in this issue are seriously concerned with wide variety of viewpoints. But the tone of the discussion future of gifted education from the early education through showed that individuals with different opinions and university levels. Joan Smutty, Director of The Center for approaches concerning gifted education can engage in Gifted at National-Louis University, discusses some of the dynamic and useful interchanges that help teachers and articles included in her forthcoming book on educating administrators to better understand some of the key issues young gifted children. Through her dedicated efforts, she in this field.The range of opinions expressed by the has established one of the largest summer programs for panelists was valuable to both the participants and the gifted students in the nation. During the summer months, audience. It would be educationally healthy to have similar it includes over 2,000 students from all over the Chicago types of panel discussions at every state and national metropolitan area. Karen Kendig appears in this quarterly meeting. Such discussions among educators with different for the first time with an essay on homeschooling the gifted. viewpoints are particularly necessary at national meetings She has taught in a gifted magnet school in Colorado for six to promote the survival and expansion of gifted education years and is coordinator of the testing and selection during these hard times. program today. She has written articles and spoken at state and national conventions on a variety of topics, including The current national leadership seems to be taking a role of underachieving gifted. Karen is currently serving on her accommodating gifted education to the regular education local school district's gifted and talented committee and is classroom. As indicated by many teachers at OAGC, this a homeschooling parent. Michael Walters concludes this role of appeasement is not working and will eventually issue with a discussion of Jonathan Swifts satirical writings bring about the overall demise of differential education for -- much of what Swift satirized has particular bearing on the gifted. In this regard, we need to strengthen our offense the current state of public education. Walters has been kn to a much higher level than is currently evident at the writing articles for GEPQ on the humanities and related national level. Why is this accommodating stance being so areas since its inception nine years ago. forthrightly taken by many national leaders in the gifted Maurice D. Fisher Publisher field? Is this position best for gifted children and for the 3 PAGE 2 THE UNDERSERVED YOUNG GIFTED CHILD: STATUS OF PROGRAMS AND RESEARCH BY JOAN SMUTNY THE CENTER FOR GIFTED NATIONAL-LOUIS UNIVERSITY EVANSTON, ILLINOIS The gifted young child has been and continues to be only identified, but readied for entrance into the school's underserved and ineffectively served; and within this formal gifted program which starts in third grade. general classification of young children, there are a number of special populations of gifted whose needs have been Critical to successful implementation of these programs has virtually ignored. One sign that gifted preprimary and been extensive collaboration and communication among primary education is coming of age is increased sensitivity gifted teachers, bilingual teachers, preschool teachers and to the requirements of these special groups, which include regular dassroom teachers. For example, one Project Excel children from impoverished backgrounds. Commonly, teacher "presented to First Step teachers a demonstration of special populations have been underidentified due to a lesson combining brainstorming and Taba's developing traditional identification methods that rely heavily on IQ concepts strategy for use with Spanish-speaking children and achievement tests.These standardized tests are who are not yet reading. The demonstration provided an severely limited in their ability